Overall, Saturday looks like the brighter of the two weekend days. High temperatures will be shy of records, but still way above normal

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Through the first 10 days of December, Boston is averaging an impressivesix degrees above normal. It’s a similar situation across most New England cities and towns, and it won’t change this weekend.

Overall, Saturday looks like the brighter of the two weekend days. High temperatures will be shy of records, but still way above normal. Expect highs for most to reach the 50s, with a few 60s in Southern New England. On the cooler end of things, we’ll find a few 40s near the Canadian border in Northern New England. A few more clouds will move in late day as a cold front begins to sag south.

Photo credit: necn

That front will be what we call a “backdoor” cold front. It gets that name because it will move from northeast to southwest, as opposed to west to east (which is more typical). The placement of that front is key on Sunday. Right now it looks like it will sit near the Merrimack River Valley. North and east of there, meaning parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, we’ll find highs in the 40s in most spots. Meanwhile, south and west of that front in parts of Connecticut, Western Massachusetts, and Rhode Island we’ll see highs spike into the 60s yet again. For most of the Boston area, we’ll sit in the middle with highs in the 50s. The front will also result in mostly cloudy skies on Sunday. A quick spot shower is possible too.

Our best shot at breaking high temperature records this weekend will be on Sunday, despite the extra clouds. The record to beat on Sunday is 60 in Hartford, Connecticut(set in 1984). In Providence, Rhode Island, the record is 63 set in 1983. Boston’s record of 63 from 1984 will be harder to tie or beat because of that sneaky back door cold front.

Mild weather will continue into next week, but rain will also move in on Monday. It will become heavy at times Monday night. Keep in mind that the precipitation may actually begin as some freezing rain in Northern Maine on Monday.